Authors

Date of this Version

February 1962

Abstract

One of the primary reasons for controlling most vertebrate pests is the role these creatures play as links in the infection chain of certain agents pathogenic to man. It is reasonable to assume that the persons engaged in the eradication or removal of pests are at some risk of contacting zoonoses - diseases transmissible from animals to man. Unfortunately, histories or epidemiological data of occupational infections among pest control operators are not available; perhaps this society may become a future assembly point for statistics in this field. The hazards therefore have to be approached theoretically: diseases known to be associated with vertebrate pests must be studied as to their prevalence in the animal reservoir, ease of transmission, and the particular mode in which control operators would most likely become exposed. The data on individual diseases which follow, although by no means complete, should serve as an introduction to the study of zoonoses affecting pest animals. Rabies, LEPTOSPIROSIS, PLAGUE, ENDEMIC (MURINE) TYPHUS, ORNITHOSIS